


Tense

by AGirlNamedKing (InsanitysRequiem)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Massage, Mildly Dubious Consent, Praise Kink, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-War, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:41:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28597110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsanitysRequiem/pseuds/AGirlNamedKing
Summary: A drabble (or slightly more) for a friend. Edelgard is stressed and Rhea notices. As the monastery's matriarch she takes it upon herself to help Edelgard relax and perhaps learn to trust her. Perhaps.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/Rhea
Kudos: 39





	Tense

Edelgard had never been in the archbishop's chambers before. As a point of fact she generally tried to be as far away from her as was strictly possible at all times. There was something deeply uncomfortable about the pale imitation of humanity Rhea presented to the world, something that made the future-emperor's skin crawl every time she glanced into those eyes that she knew had seen the passing of centuries. One day, she would unshackle the land from the grip of these beasts, but until then she had to lay low and continue sewing the seeds of rebellion. And that meant if the archbishop said "jump"...

"You wanted to see me, Lady Rhea?" Edelgard asked, attempting to modulate her tone.

"I did, my child, yes," Rhea responded from a chair in the corner, a surprisingly dainty and padded thing that Edelgard couldn't help but notice was patterned with flowers. "You are aware that I care for everyone in the monastery dearly, I'm sure."

Edelgard swallowed as Rhea rose from her chair and for the first time the princess realized the awesome power she was beholding. Her heart hammered against her ribcage as she stared up at the one she swore she would take the head of some day. And yet, despite her fear and all her hatred, she knew she couldn't betray an inch of it.

"I am," Edelgard replied as neutrally as possible.

Rhea's gaze softened. "Edelgard..." she said, each letter dripping with soft syrup that made the princess's knees tremble. "You're always so tense with me."

"I prefer to think of it as respect, Lady Rhea," Edelgard replied.

Rhea sighed and stared into the distance, and despite herself Edelgard swore she saw a glimpse of sadness in them. But she must disabuse herself of such notions. Animals do not feel empathy, after all. Still, the archbishop had sat on the bed and was certainly staring at her with an expression that seemed almost pleading...

"Please, house leader, come sit next to me," Rhea insisted. She patted the space next to her on the grand four-poster. "Respect may go a long way, but you needn't suffer the weight of the world alone. Do you fear me?"

Edelgard said nothing. Rhea closed her eyes softly.

"I see..." she murmured. "A shame."

Sudden pressure on Edelgard's shoulders made the Black Eagles' leader jump. She looked around and realized that the archbishop was touching her.

_The archbishop was touching her._

Did she want to pull away? Well, she realized, not particularly. This was intel. That's all. This was the closest she had ever been to Rhea in her life. And...the way Rhea's hands moved along her shoulders and neck, the thumbs pressing into the pressure points, certainly felt...good. Really good.

"It isn't easy, having so much responsibility, is it?" Rhea murmured, continuing to squeeze, drum, and trace Edelgard's tight muscles. "Diplomacy, house leadership, combat training, your studies...no wonder you're so tight, my child. No wonder..."

Edelgard gasped as Rhea's slender yet powerful hands squeezed between her shoulder blades, the cloth of her uniform acentuating each touch, and she gasped again as the archbishop's cold hands slid under the neckline and onto her bare skin.

"You may have heard the rumors of how I tend to spoil my nuns," Rhea continued, and Edelgard could hear the soft smile in her voice that should couldn't quite ignore. "Perhaps you would enjoy that too, Edelgard? I don't bite."

She giggled, a noise Edelgard had never heard from Rhea before. She opened her mouth to say something about the biting comment, perhaps words to the effect of 'we both know that's not true', but Rhea's hands were sliding down her breasts, tracing her hardened nipples, and her breath caught in her throat.

"I've noticed how hard you've been working, Edelgard," Rhea continued. Edelgard flushed. She had been working hard, it's true. "And I can feel it, too. I must tend to my flock as best I can. You know I am proud of each of my students, but I simply couldn't be prouder of you. You are a remarkably shrewd and intelligent leader, Edelgard, so why won't you share that knowledge with me?"

Edelgard wanted to spit out her words of venom, blow the plan to smithereens right then and there, but the way Rhea's hands danced across her abdominal muscles infused with magic that let her shed the tension of this miserable year was intoxicating. For a brief moment, the evenly measured softness of the archbishop's voice threatened to make her seem like more than an obstacle to the future-empress. For a moment, she almost relaxed. She fought tooth-and-nail to reject the compliments that threatened to pierce the shell that surrounded her heart, to mixed success. Despite herself, Edelgard chewed her lip and whimpered as Rhea's hands moved further down.

"You can talk to me, Edelgard," Rhea assured her. "You don't have to be scared or alone when I'm around. I simply want what's best for everyone. So, my child, if there is anything you wish to confess..."

Edelgard let out an involuntary moan as the archbishop's fingers smoothly slid inside her, aided by how slick she already was. The moans turned to ecstatic whimpers and delighted gasps as Rhea gently, softly stroked, teased, and pumped. Was this what it meant to give yourself to the goddess? To devote your life to the church? No matter how she tried to fight it, surely no one as cruel as this facsimile of humanity could make her feel so needed, so wanted, so loved...

Despite herself Edelgard could feel herself shifting desperately so each ridge and each knuckle of each finger rubbed against her inner walls. She screwed her eyes shut desperately, her mind trapped in a haze of heat and desire, leaving no room for the stresses of what it meant to be Edelgard von Hresvelg, future ruler, Black Eagles House Leader, revolutionary, royal, top-of-her-class. None of that mattered now, not now that the feeling of the hand on her back and the thumb on her clit filled her with electricity and that someone, anyone, was recognizing how fucking hard all this had been and how she needed a goddamn break-

Edelgard's whole body shuddered as she climaxed, hungrily closing around the fingers deep inside her and soaking the sheets she sat on. She opened her eyes blearily and in her haze saw the glowing face of the archbishop staring down at her, Rhea's soft-yet-coy smile for an instant making her feel like the single most important person in the world.

"Do you feel better, Edelgard?" Rhea asked, her own voice taking on a breathless quality audible even through her usual far away timbre. The archbishop seemed to shine with the soft glow of the morning sun, the warmth of an afternoon in the field, and the fire of an all-consuming inferno.

Edelgard's aches and pains, the heaviness in her heart, all for that brief moment were gone and she answered plainly. "I do, Lady Rhea," she said. "Thank you..."

_Lady Rhea._

The spell was lifted. This wasn't the goddess. This wasn't anyone who had her best interests at heart. This was the cruel shadowy hand of the empire that she had to destroy. It was all an act. It had to be. It had to be. 

_It had to be,_ Edelgard thought to herself as she allowed Rhea to fuss over her appearance, making sure her hair was no longer tangled, her clothes were cleaned, her residual aches were taken care of with healing magic. The feelings, the sensations, the emotions, it all was a ploy, a ploy to get her to trust her just as she had done to so many others. It wasn't going to work, not on Edelgard von Hresvelg.

"Are you comforted, my child?" the archbishop asked her subject as the two of them stood at the door. Rhea's face had relaxed into the composed, calm expression Edelgard knew she had practiced so well for so long.

"Yes, Lady Rhea," Edelgard admitted. It was the truth, loathe as she was to say it aloud.

"Do think on what I said," Rhea continued. "You'll work yourself into an early grave if you aren't careful."

Edelgard nodded wordlessly, desperate to leave this room which now felt strange and suffocating, and when Rhea opened her chamber doors she left in earnest, her head full of conflict, full of doubt.

 _No,_ she reminded herself as she shook her head, causing her ribbons to flutter in the breeze as she stared at the floor of the hall. _No._

She was Edelgard von Hresvelg. In her world, there was no room for doubt.


End file.
